


The Harpe Courts

by TheMadKatter13



Series: The Tumblr Faultline [26]
Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, First Dates, Historical Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-30
Updated: 2014-12-30
Packaged: 2018-03-07 11:53:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3173084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMadKatter13/pseuds/TheMadKatter13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A date conducted precisely as it should be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Harpe Courts

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally a tumblr-only, but that's just silly. A play on words between [harpe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpe) and [harpy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpy).

The man at her side smiled gently and helped her down from the cart. The sun's light upon her escort's face made him pleasing to look at, and she smiled back. Her belly was full from the expensive dinner her companion had requested for her, and her neck was heavy with the man's gift: ropes of smooth, shiny stones.

The horses pulled the cart away as they walked along the side of her home, her companion holding the large fronds hovering over the little path out of her face. It was a silent walk to the covered gazebo in the back and she sat gracefully on the stone bench. The man went down to his knees, and produced a ring from his tunic.

"You would honour me with your beauty if you would accept this token of my courtship and bond with me as wife and husband," the kneeling man said, face open and gentle as he held the copper circle, a sign of his wealth, aloft for her perusal. She lifted the ring and examined its simple, smooth workmanship, contemplating the day they'd just had.

Her companion was well off, and was either free with his coin, or wished to give a good impression to tempt her to his marriage bed. The man was young and attractive and courteous. A good marriage partner. Oh, but he was so frightfully dull. She had barely survived a half day in his companionship, how would she fare a life?

She raised her face from where it had drifted close to her palm when her focus had washed from the the ring. A hopeful look dawned upon the handsome face.

"No," she said simply. The hopeful look fell and the man gave a resigned sigh as he bowed his head. Wordlessly, she slid the ring onto her left pinky to join its varied brethren along every other finger except her left ring finger. She raised her harpe and brought it down solidly onto the kneeling man's neck.

"Was this one pretty?" her neighbor called through the green foliage separating their properties.

"Yes," she replied simply, watching her servant place the severed head upon the headless man's stomach before dragging the fresh corpse away.

Her neighbor sighed heavily. "Couldn't you at least send the pretty ones over here first?" the other woman called over.

"It matters not. That was my ninth," she replied, reclining back against the railing and raising her face to the sun.

"Oh!" her neighbor exclaimed needlessly. Through the fronds, she could hear the soft proposal of a man at her neighbor's feet, followed by a "Sorry, dear, but you are quite frightful to look upon. I did enjoy our outing however." There was the familiar sound of a man's resigned sigh followed by the sound of steel biting into flesh and muscle. "At least you get the pretty ones," his neighbor muttered over the sound of her servant dragging away the body. "I just want a pretty one."

"Be happy you're getting one at all!" her other neighbor shouted through the small grove. The two devolved into bickering over the reclining woman's courtyard and she ignored them, relaxing into the sunlight.

She had yet to be courted by someone, man or woman, who could hold her attention for longer than it took the first cart ride to their intended destination. She was pleased that her obligation to her name was to be up after the tenth failure to arouse her interest. She could only hope that a tenth suitor would show interest soon so she could be done with this nonsen-

"A tenth suitor has requested to court you," her called servant called, all ready scrubbing blood from worn hands. "Shall I show them back?"

She grinned.

FIN

**Author's Note:**

> Soon to be extended into Johnlock fanfic.
> 
> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you thought, good or bad, in the Comments, and if bad, please be constructive so that I may better my writing! :3 Also, if you liked the story enough to want to promote/rec it on tumblr, instead of creating a new post, please reblog either the [original post](http://themadkatter13fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/106659281393/the-harpe-courts) or the [typical story info post](http://themadkatter13fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/108023416398/the-harpe-courts)! Thank you so much! You are, of course, also more than welcome to follow me on tumblr as well! :3 Tschüß~


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